the president for any of them or all of them. why? the reason i gravley suspect is to attack president obama for the killing sprees would argue that a president has a right to stop them from happening. and that is a fact that the right is not willing to concede. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, this time it's different. we've watched senseless gun violence for too long. and too many times we've watched things return to the status quo again and again. but not this time. the white house says the president is actively supportive of efforts to reinstate an assault weapons ban. we learned today he's also asking his cabinet members for other proposals to curb gun violence. and the top democrat in the house. made it clear the time for action is now.

>> i think there's a better chance to do that now than ever. not that one child's life is more important than another person's life, but the volume, the impact of this that every child can feel vulnerable. the fact there's been so many events in close proximity and timewise to each other that this is almost a tipping point. >> it is a tipping point. democrats are looking to push a bill this week that would ban high-capacity magazines. like those used in newtown. it's not just the white house. it's not just congress. today there's major news out of michigan where the republican governor rick snyder has vetoed legislation that would allow concealed weapons in churches and schools and day care centers. new polls show support for stricter gun control is at a ten-year high. the company that owns the gun

maker that produced the rifle used in last week's massacre plans to sell it. calling the shooting a quote, water shed event. and dick sporting goods has suspend the sale of modern sporting rifles in all of their change. this is change. this is different. yet the right wing is already gearing up for a fight. fox news reports that the nra is expected to push back soon. they'll hold a news conference on friday. and republican governors still aren't convinced that guns are the problem. governor jan brewer says quote, i'm not sure additional gun control is something that needs to be addressed. i don't know how we get our arms around it. don't know how to get your arms around it? how about disarming those who shouldn't have weapons? and virginia governor bob mcdonald seems to think there are many solutions to be

pursued. but gun control. >> could you imagine ever supporting a ban to limit the sale of assault rifles and clips to private citizens? >> well, i think we ought to look at a number of things -- >> are you hoping? >> i don't think that's the first place you look. because first of all we don't have all the facts. >> we don't have all the facts. but we have the facts that matter. 27 people are dead. and we should do everything we can to prevent it from happening again. joining me now is congresswoman diana degette, democrat from colorado. and former pennsylvania governor ed rendell now an nbc political analyst. thank you both for joining me. >> thanks, al. >> congresswoman degette, let me start with you. you put forth the bill targeting high-capacity magazines. this already has 125

co-sponsors, 16 of which signed up today. is there momentum for real gun control this time around? >> well, there is momentum. congresswoman carolyn mccarthy and i from new york introduced this bill earlier this session after the terrible shootings in aurora which are right outside my congressional district. we tried to push for this bill. it's only a step of what we need to do, but to be honest, you're never going to stop some seriously deranged person from trying to shoot again. but what you can do is stop them from having these magazines that will kill 26 people in a ten-minute period. and so we're urging -- the bill's ready. we signed up 16 people in one hour this morning. we think that speaker boehner could bring it to the floor this week and show the country that we're really making some positive first steps to keeping these serious, serious weapons out of the hands of people who are criminals or who are

seriously mentally ill. >> so you think that it's possible to bring this to the floor of the house this week? >> we could do it. it's been introduced. it's ripe. we have a number of co-sponsors. then the first of the year we're going to work with senator feinstein and others to do a more comprehensive bill to deal with the assault weapons themselves and a lot of other issues too. but right now congresswoman mccarthy and i have this bill. it will ban these assault clips which were used in this case and used in aurora and used in arizona and so many other places. it will give those victims a fighting chance once the shooter stops shooting, to tackle them and to stop so many more precious lives from being taken. >> governor, there are signs the country's changing. a majority of americans see the newtown shooting as a sign of a broader societal problem. not just an isolated act. that's a complete reversal that followed the shootings in

virginia tech and tucson and colorado. americans simply thought those shootings were isolated incidents. it doesn't seem to be the case this time. so when you hear governors like governor mcdonnell and brewer and others, it seems like the ground has shifted much differently than it was before. yet you still hear republicans seem to be talking as they did in the past. >> well, you're right, rev. but look. it is shifting and as usual the republicans are out of touch with what the american people are feeling. i have a question for governor mcconnell. regardless of -- and the congresswoman is right. limiting the number of high-capacity -- the number of bullets to be in a magazine or a clip to ten doesn't guarantee that a crazy person goes out and does something like this again. but it sure as heck guarantees that they can't fire a hundred bullets in 60 seconds. it means that after ten shots, they have to go into their

pocket -- they have to first take out the magazine, the clip that's been spent. then they've got to put it in. i know from my days in the army when you're doing that and you're under pressure, very often you jam it. which is what happened to loughner in arizona. you remember loughner was disarmed while he was trying to put another clip in. can you imagine if lanza could do this eight or nine times. the chances of the kids running away or someone disarming him would have been enormous. i want to ask governor mcconnell is question. give me one -- one reason why a law-abiding american citizen needs a magazine or clip with more than ten bullets in it. give me one reason why a law-abiding american citizen needs an assault semi-automatic weapon. >> congresswoman, the shooter in newtown had 30 rounds per clip. 30.

>> right. >> your legislation would limit to ten. 30 rounds per clip. how does anyone make the case that you need 30-round clips in order to protect yourself? >> reverend, there's no real case to be made for it. when i ask people this question, they say we want it for target shooting. and what my response is, the risk to innocent little children like the ones killed in connecticut is so much greater than the pleasure that shooting at targets with a 30-clip would give to target shooters. really it's a no brainer to me. and the shooter in the aurora theater had a clip with 100 rounds of ammunition. that's why he was able to shoot up that whole theater in two or three minutes. and there were military personnel in there. if he had just been -- if he had had to stop, they could have tackled him. they could have taken him out. >> the reason he didn't have to stop, governor, is because he

had those hundred-round clips. and let's not forget, governor, in newtown one of those kids had 11 bullets in him. we're talking about some unbelievable things here. >> unbelievable evil. you're absolutely right. one of the points the congresswoman made and we should remember this is in aurora although the majority of the victims were adults, there were two 6-year-old and 7-year-old and there was one 6-month-old baby. 6-month-old baby that got killed. so this isn't the first time we've lost our kids. >> when does it end? >> when does it stop? >> and when is the legislative response? the reason i was happy to have you on tonight, congresswoman, is we can't just shake our heads and say something's got to change. somebody has got to move forward some legislation and take a roll call in the congress on who is going to stand up and who is

not. call the roll. let's see where everybody stands, congresswoman. >> the moms and dads of america deserve to know where their member of congress stands. and that's why we think the speaker could bring this bill to the floor this week. the one banning the assault cartridges. and then starting the first of the year we're going to have a much more comprehensive bill. but right now right this week, let the american public ask their member of congress where they stand. >> well, governor and congresswoman, i promise you we'll run the roll down. people ought to know all over this country who stands for what when you have babies, 6-month-old babies killed in aurora. you have 4 to 10-year-olds killed in connecticut. and people are talking about we have to wait on the facts. those are enough facts for many of us. >> one thing we got to do, rev, is keep the pressure on speaker boehner. because he could deep six this and not bring it to a vote.

he's the one person that could protect his members by not bringing it to a vote. the american people need to know where everyone in congress stands on this issue. so speaker boehner, bring it to the floor. >> let's take a count. let's call the roll. congresswoman diana degette and governor ed rendell, thanks for your time this evening. >> thank you. coming up, republicans are already plotting to block gun control, but democrats have a plan to fight back. we'll talk with connecticut senator richard blumenthal. but the gop's got a great idea for rebooting the brand. more bush. why? because it worked so well the last time? and richard engel's dramatic escape from captivity in syria in his own words. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc.

try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.

have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. this photo of a newtown, connecticut, student smiling on his way back to school was inspiring a lot of folks today. mary says this shows how brave they are and how loved and secure they feel. good job, parents and community. buddy says that's why we have to provide a world that keeps them safe. we'll have more on what's being done to help keep them safe coming up next. but first we wanted to hear what you think on this issue or anything else. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's.

♪ let it snow, let it snow [ female announcer ] almost nothing can dampen a baby's mood, when he wakes up dry in pampers. unlike other diapers, pampers has 3 absorbent layers, for up to 12 hours of protection overnight, and more beautiful mornings. ♪ pampers. peaceful nights. playful days.

right now democratic lawmakers are mobilizing for the most sustained and passionate push on gun control in a generation. they know that after the sandy hook tragedy everything is different. but some on the right can't accept it. i told you yesterday how the nra shut down its facebook and twitter feeds after the massacre. but they continued their propaganda with an online show called "nra news" filled with guests calling in to insist new gun laws won't happen. >> some people just want to turn this into a political football. most of them know that you're not actually going to pass gun control laws. it's just not going to happen. so for them to come right out of

the box within hours sometimes or barely a day after this and talk about new gun control legislation is frankly either irrelevant or it's frivolous. >> stopping the massacre of innocent kids. how is that irrelevant? how is that frivolous? the time for action is now. before we have to bury any more children. joining me now is senator richard blumenthal, democrat from connecticut. he's the state's former attorney general as well as a former prosecutor and u.s. attorney. senator, thanks for being here tonight. >> thank you so much. >> are you confident that democrats will be able to pass meaningful gun legislation? >> i am never confident of anything when it comes to the united states congress or i should say overconfident. but i am confident that we're going to fight for it. because we are at a critical

turning point. there is a kind of tectonic movement politically. the ground is shifting on this issue of gun violence protection. this president spoke very eloquently about it at the vigil sunday night. and my colleagues actually have been revisiting their past positions. and i'm confident that we are in a different era when it comes to gun violence prevention. and we've got a real chance of banning assault weapons, stopping high-capacity magazines or clips. mental health intervention, all kinds of measures like that one. >> right. but on top of that and when we see the horrific scenes that has happened in your state and those that have been impacted in a rail way, yet we see a response of senator shelby. he doesn't look like he's had a seismic change at all. look at this.

>> with senator feinstein reintroducing the assault weapons -- >> i would oppose those kind of things. that's not going to answer the question. it's who -- you got to find out who has access to those guns. especially where people are irrational deranged and so forth. how do you define assault weapon? it's very difficult. >> he opposes an assault weapon ban. how will the democrats be able to fight back and make sure there's a difference this time? >> no question. there will be opposition. there always has been. but this slaughter of children really of babies was so brutal and so inhumane, horrible, unspeakable, unimaginable until it occurred. and even now difficult for people to grasp that i think it has illicited a different kind of response from the more

moderate and thoughtful of republicans or democrats. public safety shouldn't be a partisan issue when the police arrive at somebody's door they don't ask are you a republican or democrat. this shouldn't be about party differences. and colleagues of mine lieg joe manchin and mike warner and harry reid the majority leader who have been talking about the changing pe ining perceptions o issue can help us reach across divisions, even illicit some of the organizations that have been opposed in the past. >> now, you also see the smoke screens, senator. mike huckabee. he made a comment that has become notorious now on friday night saying that sandy hook happened because we removed god from our schools. let me play to you his sound bite. >> we ask why there's violence in our schools, but we've

systematically removed god from our schools. we've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability. >> and this is nothing against god or those of us who believe in god. you and i have been in churches together during campaigns. we know and respect people's religion. but that's avoiding this issue about semiautomatic and automatic weapons and going off somewhere else that has nothing to do with the issues at hand that has so impacted your state in the nation. >> our state is still grieving from an act of inhumane slaughter committed with an assault weapon that was designed for military purposes. we need to focus on the safety

of our children. and avoid being distracted from the potential ban on assault weapons, the ban on high magazine -- high-capacity magazines that enabled this killer to kill so many innocent children. >> you've been the state attorney general. you've been a prosecutor. you know that state from one side to the other. from hartford to newtown from stanford to new haven. and this is a problem that is urban and suburban. if there's one issue that could bring everybody together, i think it's everyone is living under siege now. and where it looked like an urban problem before, it's everywhere. don't you think the fact now it is visited everywhere that we have a tremendous opportunity to unite people around nothing should compromise us from protecting our children.

we're talking about our babies now in elementary school. >> the president made this point very powerfully sunday night. we are failing our children. and it's not just the children of one community. and law enforcement knows very, very well how important this issue is which is why they are the ones who are joining and saying to me you need to do something. that is the mantra i've heard in newtown, for people there. from the citizens of communities across connecticut. from law enforcement and from guys who've spent their lives trying to make the streets and neighborhoods safetier. and they are the ones who say we are often outgunned by people with assault weapons that can pierce our armor. so the guards at schools who are supposedly according to this idea that we're going to have guards in every school, would be very much endangered themselves

and probably unable to stop a bushmaster ar-15 of the kind this individual had with rounds of 30 clips each ready to blast away as he did at the entrance of that school building. >> very good point, senator blumenthal. and our thoughts and prayers are with the people in their state. in fact, i'm joining a vigil with them tonight. thank you for your time. >> thank you, sir. still ahead, third time's the charm? the gop is looking to yet another bush to help reboot their brand. but first, the gop's conspiracy theorists turned their attention to hillary clinton. that's next. [ woman ] too weak.

wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair.

if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com.

the right wing's got a new motto. if at first you don't succeed at making up a scandal, try, try again. for months they've smeared the obama administration claiming u.n. ambassador susan rice covered up information about the attacks in libya. now these wing nuts are turning on secretary of state hillary clinton. she was scheduled to testify this week at a hearing about the benghazi attacks. but while suffering from a stomach virus, secretary clinton fainted, hit her head, and

sustained a concussion. doctors told her to work from home this week. and her deputies will testify in her place. she's recuperating at her home. which means some righties smell a conspiracy. the new york post called the concussion a head fake. investors business daily says it's suspicious. no one's seen a medical report. the daily caller is picking up the drum beat with a headline where's hillary clinton's medical report? the conspiracies even made it on to tv. >> every foreign service officer in every foreign ministry in the world knows the phrase i'm about to use. when you don't want to go to a meeting or concert or event, you have a diplomatic illness. and this is a diplomatic illness to beat the band. >> they're accusing the secretary of state of playing hooky. they seem to be forgetting that

the house could still ask clinton to testify in the future. in fact, they probably will. the right wing has gone from asking where's the birth certificate to where's the medical report. did they think we wouldn't call them out for attacking our secretary of state? nice try head cases, but we got you. i had a massive heart att. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. [ female announcer ] almost nothing can dampen a baby's mood, when he wakes up dry in pampers. unlike other diapers, pampers has 3 absorbent layers, for up to 12 hours of protection overnight, and more beautiful mornings. ♪ pampers. peaceful nights. playful days.

she also likes to ride her bike. she knows the potential for making or losing money can pop up anytime. that's why she trades with the leader in mobile trading. so she's always ready to take action, no matter how wily... or weird... or wonderfully the market's behaving... which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

flavor boost, meet beef. it's swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth to add delicious flavor to your skillet dish in just one stir. mmm! [ female announcer ] cook, meet compliments. get recipes at flavorboost.com. poor republicans. we've been watching their first tentative stop/start steps to figure out why they lost the election and the popular vote in four of the last five elections. today we -- well, they took the first big step in giving an answer. we learned at the conference. the big chance to reintroduce itself to the american people. and it's got something for everyone. jeb bush is going to be there.

the establishment choice for 2016. paul ryan will be there. fiscal conservatives eat your heart out. and look at this. senator-elect ted cruz, senator marco rubio. romney lost the hispanic vote by almost 45 points. but they hope these three will help. the man who will be south carolina's new senator tim scott will be there too. true diversity. a real change. except when it comes to policy. the new senator is same as the old senator. tea party key maker jim demint. >> look at his score cart with the heritage action now he's closing in on an "a." i think we're on the same page. and hopefully we'll continue to work together. i look forward to hearing more

from the senators as president of the heritage. >> on the same page? that's a scary thought. last year congressman scott said it would be an impeachable act if president obama raised the debt limit without congressional approval. he sponsored a bill to kick a family off food stamps if an adult in the family is on strike. nice job, scrooge. and as a state lawmaker, he sponsored a bill to create a state monument to fetuses. is he kidding? he's not. republicans got crushed in the election. they know they have to do something about it. but this isn't it. joining me now, two cohosts of "the cycle" here on msnbc. steve kornacki and crystal ball. am i missing something or is the gop pretty much the same as the

old gop? >> at this point you haven't seen the policy shift the party's going to need to make on some of the biggest issues. to give them a bit of the benefit of the doubt, there's three things i would look for in the immediate future. the most pressing would be if there is a deal here on the fiscal cliff. and it does involve raising the income tax rates on high-income people. do republicans go along with that deal or stick back to the anti-tax, anti-tax on the wealthy sort of posture they have for years? the second would be guns in response to what's in the news this week. will there be any shift from republicans in recognition of where the party's been? will there be a shift there? and i think the third coming will be immigration. you talk about the latino vote there. the big move will be for there to be a big immigration reform next year. and do republicans moderate themselves on that or are we

still stuck where it's everything is amnesty and it's off the table? >> but is it at the point, crystal, where you look at the fact that we're not hearing anything. even when we see manchin and others that have moved on gun legislation or gun control. these are democrats that had a different position. we haven't heard major republicans really come out and say much of anything. the same with immigration. the same with what is going on in the fiscal cliff. so we're not really seeing any substantive recognition of why they lost. >> they've been very quiet. and to your point in your intro, you know, throwing up a few diverse spaces as they did at the rnc is not going to be nearly enough to cut it. i would say not only do we have to wait and see how do they handle the fiscal cliff and gun control debate and immigration. but then are those members of congress punished in primaries in the next election cycle?

because that's the real problem here. only 15 members of the republican caucus are from districts that obama won. so we're talking about a group of people who are representing very red districts and are more concerned about the primary challenge than they are a general election challenge. so they're always thinking more about the maybe 30% of voters who are far to the right republican voters going to show up in a primary. they're thinking more about that group of folks than the broad center of the country in the general election electorate. >> you know, growing number of conservatives are calling on lawmakers to block disaster and spending for hurricane sandy. unless they're offsetting spending cuts. two most recent voices. the club for growth and heritage action for america. related to the heritage foundation which jim demint has taken over. funny but i don't remember them asking for offsetting cuts when they funded the iraq war. >> right. and this is a classic example, i

think, of what went wrong for the republican party in the last couple years. in the 2012 election and the years leading up to it. this sort of -- when you apply the purity that they have sort of embraced in, the conservative purity on issue after issue, it puts them in a minority position. this is what really hampered mitt romney more than anyone else as a nominee. he had the capable theoretically to be a moderate candidate if he wanted to be. he could be anything. but because of where the party was, because of how this purity -- this sort of purity mind-set had embedded itself in the party, mitt romney was extremely limited in anything he could say, in any position he could take. these are the sorts of positions the conservatives have been demanding they take. and it's got to change. >> you know, crystal, they seem to not be able to get out of their own way. tom morh mohr moi rrissey.

he says he's still not sure the president is from this country. listen to this. >> my issue is this. i'm not convinced as an elector. as an elector i have a sacred trust. in my opinion what i have seen from the president produced as a birth certificate. he does not convince me it is a real document. >> you couldn't make this up. >> it's unbelievable. but, i mean, the problem is partly that there's always going to be a possibility of getting fame, getting recognition for hating the president, for making outrageous statements. and the other thing is the republican party during 2010 in particular, they embrace this very short-term strategy of riding the tea party wave, telling them they were right, that they were just. and giving people like that gentleman a lot of credence and a lot of credibility by saying

yes your views are justified. yes, they are in the mainstream. yes, we should be talking about them. and now that they're trying to turn the corner, it's hard to reign in folks you've given a lot of power to in your party. >> now, steve, governor snyder of michigan did veto today this new law that would have allowed people in michigan to bring concealed weapons into schools and churches and day care centers. but when you look at this, this might be something that got his attention. he now has a 38% approval rating. it's a 28-point net drop since last month. now, he signed the right to work law and dropped 28 points. i always say on this show you do unpopular things, you get unpopular results. >> that's exactly right. that is the -- this is a weird situation because snyder in michigan is one of several examples of republicans -- a

monster year in 234e 2010 midterms. all these state legislative seats were up. it was this monster tidal waves. it meant there were a number of big blue states like michigan where republicans found themselves in complete control of state government. you have the potential, you want to do right to work you have the power to do it. the only check that democrats really have until the 2014 election a guy like snyder is that reality. every time you do something like that, it's going to generate a lot of noise and blowback. you're still a republican governor in a blue state. you're still going to need to win over democrats to get re-elected in 2014. you do one thing like this, it brings the approval rating way down. you know, confronted with another right to work type piece of legislation. i think snyder will probably think twice before embracing it. >> i have to tell you this one. nine news organizations are challenging the romney campaign

to come together. because they want the romney campaign to explain bills sent to their media after the election. look at what they're charging these media for covering them. $745 per person for vice presidential debate viewing party on october 11. per person. $812 for a meal and a hold on a press spot on october 12th. $345 for food and a hold on october 30th. this is what they're billing the media. >> wow. well, it calls to mind for me the stories about how right after the campaign ended, his staff were trying to take cabs home and found out the credit cards had already been turned off. they had to pony up for their last meal and the taxi home. the post-election coverage has not been particularly kind to mitt romney. he hasn't done himself any favors. and this reinforces the narrative of how americans feel

about mitt romney. >> thanks for your time this evening. >> thanks, rev. >> and be sure to catch both on "the cycle" week days at 3:00 p.m. here on msnbc. still ahead, richard engel's amazing account of his captivity and rescue in syria. then the culture of guns in america. we'll have more gun shops than mcdonald's in this country. it's time for that to stop. [ male announcer ] coughequence™ #8. waking the baby. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪ [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. robitussin®. don't suffer the coughequences™.

i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. [ male announcer ] with stamps.com you can print real u.s. postage for all your letters and packages. i have exactly the amount of postage i need, the instant i need it. can you print only stamps? no... first class. priority mail. certified. international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

including postage and a digital scale. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.

anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.

we're back with today oos great news about nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard eng engel who's reported stories on this show many times. richard and members of his production crew were kidnapped in syria and held captive for five days. they were blindfolded and bound. and only broke free when their kidnappers came into contact with the rebel militia. richard and his team made their way to safety in turkey. and there they told their story on the "today" show. >> we were driving in syria, about five days ago, in what we thought was a rebel-controlled

area. we were with some of the rebels. and as we were moving down the road, a group of gunmen just literally jumped out of the trees and bushes on the side of the road. there were probably 15 gunmen. they were wearing ski masks. they were heavily armed. they dragged us out of the car. they had a container truck positioned waiting by the side of the road. they put us into that container truck. we were with some rebels who were escorting us. ey executed one of them on the spot. then they took us to a series of safe houses and interrogation places. and they kept us blindfolded, bound. we weren't physically beaten or tortured. it was a lot of psychological torture. they made us choose which one of us would be shot first. when we refused there were mock shootings. they pretended to shoot him a few times.

then they fired the gun in the air. it was a traumatic experience prp we were told that they wanted to exchange us for four iranian agents and two lebanese people who were from the ahmad movement. we weren't allowed to speak, but if you sort of look kind of peek underneath the blindfold, you can see if maybe there's a guard in the room or not. we tried to joke a bit back and forth and keep our spirits up. >> we prepared to die many times. >> moving was the hardest part. >> it was disconcerting to move blindfolded from house to house. >> and you think they're taking you outside to execute you. >> for five days. >> we were being moved to yet another location. as we were moving along the road the kidnappers came across the

check point. they saw this check point, started a gun fight with it, two of the kidnappers were killed. we climbed out of the vehicle. and the rebels took us. we spent the night with them. it was a traumatic experience. we're very happy to be here. we're in good health. we're okay. everyone was great. >> right now journalists like richard and his team are risking their lives to cover important stories around the world. it's a dangerous job. but all of us here a msnbc are happy they're safe and unharmed. [ woman ] too weak.

wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®. it was another difficult day in newtown, connecticut. two more of the youngest victims of the shooting. 6-year-old james mattioli and jessica rekos were laid to rest today.

five more funerals planned for tomorrow as well as the school's principal and one of the teachers killed in the shootings. but today newtown also took its first steps toward moving past this tragedy. thousands of newtown children returned to school for the first time since last friday in an effort to start healing. and begin moving forward. it will be a long time before newtown finds a sense of normalcy. but this unspeakable tragedy has united the town, the state of connecticut, and the entire nation. together we must work together to ensure that tragedies like these never happen again. joining me now is reverend boise kembell. board member of the national action network. he'll be leading a vigil and prayer service for the victims in connecticut tonight. i will also be speaking at the vigil.

reverend, thank you for joining me. >> thank you so very much, reverend sharpton. it's a delight to be here and share with you tonight. >> how can we turn the outrage of this tragedy into political action? you lead the baptist convention there. you work with faith leaders from all kinds of religion. how do we turn the moral outrage into political action that will address the laws that can help to lead to solving situations like this? >> i think reverend, sharpton. we come here tonight in newtown to stand in solidarity with this community. we have reached out to the entire state, to the entire community to say that we stand in solidarity with each person here in newtown. >> now, reverend, as we stand together, we're going to have to deal with some policy questions. like banning assault weapons

like semiautomatic weapons. you have many pastors that are in certain cities around connecticut that have been watching kids be killed for a long time. gang banging and other things. how do we unite the suburban and the urban cities in connecticut and in the chicagos and new york zs around the country. is this the idea that you're trying to start to tonight? >> we come tonight to ask that communities all over this country, let's come together, stand together, and let's begin to work with congress, senate and let's make sure that our representatives understand what is happening within our communities. >> what do you say to a mother and a father as a pastor? how do you give them comfort? how do you explain them burying a baby that you have to get a minute to catch this was their future. that this is what they planned to carry on their bloodline,

their legacy. where do faith leaders find the words to comfort them and not also try to give them a permanence by changing some of the policies that help to lead what brought their sorrow on in the first place? >> this is one of the most painful things that any clergy or clergy can do. is to explain to other little ones about the death and the loss of a loved one. the only thing that we can say tonight is that it is our faith that will allow us to get through this together. it is the love that we have for each other. it is the hope, it's all of those things up in this season that we come in at this point. >> reverend boise kim ber, thank you for your time tonight. we'll be seeing you shortly. >> thank you. it's become clear that america's gun culture has to change. between 2000 and 2008, more than

272,000 americans were killed by guns. that's more than four times the number of american troops killed in the wars in vietnam, iraq, and afghanistan combines. and today it might actually be easier to find a gun dealer than find a fast food store. there are 14,000 mcdonald's restaurants in america. and 36,000 grocery stores. but there are only 51,000 retail gun stores in the country today. it's a disturbing picture of america today. so is this a photo from a gun range in texas. where a pose with santa and your guns. is this photo session right that was billed a child-friendly event? the only thing that is needed, one rightist said for evil to prevail, is for good people to